Good Morning, Sudbury! Here are eight stories to start your day

It's been a rough 48 hours for Greg Smith, owner of Smith's market on Lasalle Boulevard, as his store caught the brunt of a violent storm on July 9.

Good morning, Greater Sudbury.

Here are some stories to start your day.

Smith's on Lasalle aiming to be back up and running in a few weeks:

It's been a rough 48 hours for Greg Smith, owner of Smith's market on Lasalle Boulevard, as his store caught the brunt of a violent storm on July 9. Damaging winds ripped apart the roof of his store, power lines were knocked over into the parking lot, and there was even a report of a "flying boat" that unceremoniously docked in front of the store. Smith was en route to North Bay when he got a phone call at around 6 p.m. Monday evening, informing him of the damage that the store had taken. "There was an aluminum boat in the parking lot, no one knows how it got there and no one has claimed it, it's still there," said Smith. "One of my staff described it, that he had looked out the front window and there was a boat about 20 feet off the ground hovering in the air. He said it looked like something out of Harry Potter, it went one direction, stopped, went the other direction, stopped, then did a nosedive into the pavement." More on this story here.

Police investigating vandalism of water tower:

Sudbury Wolves Sports and Entertainment has filed an incident report with Greater Sudbury Police, after the Pearl Street water tower was vandalized. "SWSE became aware of the graffiti on over the weekend and on Tuesday filed an incident report with the Greater Sudbury Police Service and investigation has been initiated," said a release from SWSE. The organization is currently assessing the damages through internal and external professionals and is working to resolve the graffiti in an appropriate manor. "SWSE does not condone mischief, trespassing or vandalism of any kind. The property is gated and locked at all times and trespassing will be prosecuted."

Competing proposals, new government clouds future of soccer dome:

Some city councillors have some big concerns about plans to build a sports dome at Lasalle Secondary School. One of the last local funding announcements by the former Liberal government was $4 million last April for a facility to be named in honour of the late Fabio Belli, a city councillor who championed the project before his death in 2014. But since the April announcement, it has emerged the city is being asked to pay for $2.2 million in road improvements, part of which will be on school property. The city is also being asked to pay for a $750,000 field house for the structure, plus provide $25,000 a year in operating money. And this week, the French Catholic school board announced plans to build a dome of its own at Sacre-Coeur school, in partnership with the Sudbury District Sports Club, which received a $3 million private donation in 2016 for the dome. Meeting on Tuesday, councillors were asked to approve preparing a business case for the $2.95 million request, which would then be part of the 2019 budget deliberations. More on this story can be found here.

Punching back against Parkinson's:

Top Glove Boxing Academy is officially home to Rock Steady Boxing in Sudbury. The program is internationally-renowned with more than 600 locations around the world to help those battling Parkinson's get active and help slow the effects of the neurodegenerative disease. As many as 40,000 Ontarians are living with Parkinson's disease and 25 Canadians are diagnosed daily. Top Glove hosted a media conference on July 11 to announce their newest "super heavyweight title" sponsor, UNIFOR Mine-Mill Local 598. The union has jumped on board to assist in bringing Rock Steady Boxing to Sudbury to the tune of a $10,000 commitment over the next two years. Find the full story here.

Outdoor fire ban continues for Greater Sudbury:

Rainfall that accompanied Monday’s thunderstorm was limited to certain areas of the City of Greater Sudbury. It did little to improve dry conditions in the City and as a result, the ban on all open air burning declared on Friday, July 6, is still in effect. The ban was declared because of extreme hot and dry conditions. All open air fires, including campfires, chiminea fireplaces, crop residue fires, fireworks, and any other type of outdoor burning, are prohibited. All open air fire permits have been cancelled for the duration of the ban. Gas-fired and charcoal barbecues are exempt from the fire ban. Should a violation of the fire ban result in a response by firefighters, the individuals responsible could be charged for the full cost of fire services. Conditions are monitored daily. Residents will be advised when the ban is lifted.

Five new forest fires in Sudbury area among 66 in northeast:

As of the evening of July 10, there were 66 active forest fires in the northeast region of Ontario, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Twenty-nine of these fires are not yet under control, while 37 are either being held, under control or being observed. There were 15 new starts in the northeast today, five of which are already out at the time of this update. Thunderstorms once again swept through Northeastern Ontario Monday afternoon and the ministry expects to continue to find several new starts as a result over the coming week.

Italian Festival at Caruso Club starts today:

There's 20,000 Sudburians of Italian origin, according to John Cimino, general manager of the Caruso Club. That large base of Italian-Canadians, along with those who just love Italian food and culture, ensure the popularity of the 46th annual Società Caruso Italian Festival, which starts at the Caruso Club today and runs to Sunday. The festival's Regions of Italy Food Fair takes place starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday evening, and features the distinctive food from all over Italy. You can also enjoy porketta sandwiches and Italian sausages at a barbecue starting at noon both Saturday and Sunday, and a pasta and chicken dinner Sunday evening. Other highlights are the Vendetta IX Live Pro Wrestling show starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, a life-size human foosball tournament, a full slate of live entertainment and children's activities.

Dragonboaters hit Ramsey Lake Saturday:

Ramsey Lake will be a busy place Saturday, with 40 teams set to participate in the 2018 Sudbury Dragon Boat Festival. The event begins at Bell Park Main Beach at 9 a.m. July 14, running until around 5 p.m. Festival administrator Angèl Riess says participants take part for many reasons, including physical fitness, fundraising or as a team-building exercise for organizations — not to mention just for fun. If you're cheering on a friend or family member, or just taking in the races, there's a great view from the hill near the William Bell Gazebo, she said. It's expected to be 31 C and sunny on Saturday, so don't forget to bring a hat, sunscreen, plenty of water and perhaps even a tent or umbrella to create some shade over your lawn chair.

Thursday Weather:

Another hot and sunny day is on the way. Mainly sunny to start the day and into the afternoon with the high hitting 29. Clouds rolling in this evening with a 40 per cent chance of showers. Thursday night low will be around 18. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.

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